We all have these, don’t even try to deny it. These little quirks we developed over the years or productivity tips that became bad habits are holding us down! They are keeping us from our untapped potential. Here are a few of them.

Rushing in the morning

Yes, we all have those days where the alarm didn’t go off and you’ve started the day in a panic. Those are the worst, but they’re not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about the people who sleep as long as possible. Then they wake up and rush to get ready, sometimes skip breakfast, and then manage to get out of the house in 15 minutes. I totally understand the need to sleep but does that really outweigh being able to start the day calmly? Your day will go so much smoother if you give yourself time in the morning to mentally prepare yourself. Wake up 10 or 15 minutes early and go about things slower. See if it helps!

No early email checking

They say you aren’t suppose to check your email first thing in the morning. This probably has something to do with calmly preparing your mind for the day (see above). Sometimes it’s not possible to not check your email early. There might be days when something developed overnight and you must address it soon. Instead of simply not checking your email, commit to not answering emails unless it’s just a simple answer or something you can pass off to someone else. This way you get things taken care of, but you don’t disrupt your calm morning.

Stop Multitasking

They say “You should multitask, it’s great!” Others say “Don’t multitask, it’s bad!” I’ve mentioned before, multitasking can be wonderful…if used correctly. Partner mental tasks with physical tasks. The physical task will actually help you focus better on the mental task! If you partner two mental tasks together, that’s where you go wrong. Having your brain switch from one task to another so quickly causes your focus to be split. This causes low quality work. If you have a long commute, use that time to make phone calls or, if you ride a train or bus, use that time to answer those emails you put off earlier in the morning.

Take the time to analyze how you work. If there’s something there that seems to be holding you back, figure out how to fix it! Quit those bad habits so you can be a rockstar.